Got mead?

Well, the specific gravity of my mead is down to 0.98, which means it's done fermenting. It was time to put it into a carboy for settling and aging. The problem with me using fresh apple squish is that after I racked it all off, there was shy of4 gallons remaining from a 5 gallon start. Not a huge deal, but when I put it into my 5.5 gallon carboy there was WAY too much room on top. The mead would have oxidized as it aged and gone off...and I refuse to ruin all my work :)

Soo...off to the brew store for me, where I picked up a 3 gallon and 1 gallon carboy and put the mead into there. The 3 gallon is nice and full and the gallon has a bit of room in it, but it also has the sludgy bottom stuff, so the 3 gallons should settle out really nicely and the 1 gallon will be what it will be. I should get at least 20 bottles of tasty mead in the end so I'm happy. Now I put it in a dark place and ignore it for a few months...it's at about 14% alcohol so it will need to age a while before we crack it. It may be on the dry side too, so when I bottle it I may add some honey to some of the bottles as a comparison and see which I prefer when we drink them at Christmas. The few mouthfuls I got while siphoning tasted alright so I am looking forward to how it ages out. I think this will become a yearly thing. :)

Since I have an extra carboy now (he hee) I picked up a kit to make India Pale Ale. When I have some free time in the next while I will get that started. It will be easier to ignore the mead and let it age with some beer in the pantry.

This is fun.

I love home brewing. Having a mini hobby while thesising has kept my brain a bit happier I think.

I don't do it near enough...:)